AUSTIN – After six years of growth, Texas small land sales volume declined in 2019 while median price increased, according to Texas Realtors’ 2020 Texas Small Land Sales Report.
The number of small land sales declined 2.8 percent to 7,813 tracts sold. The average price per acre grew 7.32 percent to $6,232.
“Property movement statewide was pretty comparable from 2018 to 2019 with the exception of the Panhandle,” said Real Estate Center Research Economist Dr. Charles Gilliland. “The significant increase in prices is most likely attributed to the large amount of activity from the oil and gas industry. However, the 2020 picture for small land sales in Texas will be significantly different due to the COVID-19 pandemic.”
West Texas experienced a double-digital sales volume percentage increase while South Texas experienced a moderate increase.
The average tract size for small land sales in Texas decreased 3 percent to 32 acres. Far West Texas, Northeast Texas, and South Texas all experienced increases in average tract size.
The definition of a small land sale varies by region but is generally a sale of 200 acres or less. The exception is Far West Texas, where 500 to 8,000 acres qualifies as a small land sale.
The Real Estate Center has more COVID-19 information online for free.